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A proper name is probable for Duchess Kate's baby

Donna Freydkin, USA TODAY
6:32 p.m. EST December 3, 2012

Experts predict that the celebrity couple, royalty though they are, will go the traditional route.

She's already getting in plenty of practice! Kate meets five-month-old James William Davies, as she arrives at the Guildhall during her visit to Cambridge on Nov. 28.(Photo: Arthur Edwards AFP/Getty Images)

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Will and Kate may be celebrities, but they're also royalty, so expect something traditional

"This is a name that a thousand years from now, people will be looking up," one expert says

"They won't name their baby Hashtag or Maxwell or Blue Ivy," says baby-naming expert Pam Satran, co-author of Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana: What To Name Your Baby Now and co-founder of Nameberry.com. "With modern celebrity, anything goes. I think they've shown themselves as independent and modern. They will make an independent choice, but within the framework of royal convention, which means a name that's been used in the royal family over the centuries."

And their baby's name will be traditional, Satran predicts. "We are talking about the future king or queen of England. The rules are tightened up considerably. We've had some adventurous royal names, but they won't go in that direction. We believe they'll follow stricter conventions and choose from one of the royal names used over the centuries and one with a positive association, a positive history," she says.

"This is a name that a thousand years from now, people will be looking up. It will be a name that has a positive feeling, like Arthur or Victoria."

If it's a girl, will she be named after William's beloved mother? "It probably won't be Diana, but that may have a place among the middle names," Satran says.

So how many names will this kid have? "The baby will probably have fewer first names than Uma Thurman's baby," Satran says. "Four would be my guess. That's what usually happens. Charles might be one of the middle names."

It's official: Our favorite royals are expecting!
Clarence House says Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, 30, and her husband Prince William, 30, are expecting a baby.
Their royal highnesses and families are "delighted" with the news. Here royal supporters watch Britain's Prince William kissing his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge on a giant screen in Trafalgar Square in central London, after the wedding ceremony, on April 29, 2011. (Photo: Glyn Kirk, AFP/Getty Images)

On Nov. 16, 2010, the couple announced the news the world had been waiting for: They were getting married! Middleton agreed to be Prince William's wife after he presented her with a sapphire ring that had belonged to his late mother, Princess Diana. (Photo: Chris Jackson, Getty Images)

Already an international style star, the Duchess' fashion choices got even more attention after she became a wife. The couple stepped out for a charity gala dinner during their first official royal engagement at Kensington Palace in London. (Photo: Arthur Edwards, AFP/Getty Images)

During their tour of North America, the royals dressed down for some events, such as taking part in a dragon boat race at Dalvay-by-the-sea in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada on July 4, 2011. (Photo: Samir Hussein, WireImage)

Royal watchers have been watching Kate's waistline for signs of a bump since the wedding and now attention will shift to maternity fashion, the baby's sex and, of course, the little one's name. Here the couple attend an event Nov. 28. (Photo: Leon Neal AFP/Getty Images)

She's already getting in plenty of practice! Kate meets five-month-old James William Davies, as she arrives at the Guildhall during her visit to Cambridge on Nov. 28. (Photo: Arthur Edwards AFP/Getty Images)